Cree Ships Over Two Million GaN HEMT Devices for Telecom Infrastructure

Cree Ships Over Two Million GaN HEMT Devices for Telecom Infrastructure

DURHAM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cree, Inc. (NAS: CREE) reports it has surpassed a significant milestone in shipping over two million GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMT) for cellular telecommunications and is providing game-changing benefits over traditional silicon-based technologies, including higher power, higher efficiency and wider bandwidth. As mobile devices such as smartphones are becoming more widespread, telecommunications companies are looking for innovative technologies to improve channel capacity and speed of wireless systems, while simultaneously lowering power consumption of transmission amplifiers. The use of GaN HEMT in transmitter amplifiers is gaining attention in the cellular telecommunications industry due to the ability to decrease power consumption and size, and increase bandwidth capabilities.

The world's mobile networks are reported to consume about 120TWh of electricity per year (for an average cost of US$14.4 billion), and 50 percent of the networks power is consumed by power amplifiers and associated components. Consequently, improved power amplifier efficiency can result in considerable energy savings.

"Wireless telecommunication leaders are leveraging the performance advantages of Cree's GaN HEMTs," said Tom Dekker, director sales and marketing, Cree RF Business Unit. "We are very pleased we achieved our two millionth GaN HEMT cellular telecom shipment milestone. GaN HEMT prices have greatly improved and are now a viable alternative to Si LDMOS transistors for cellular telecom amplifiers. We target continued growth of our telecommunication volumes."

Please visit www.cree.com/rf for more information about the new Cree GaN HEMT devices. Visitors to the IEEE International Symposium (IMS 2013), June 2-7, can learn more about the revolutionary technology by visiting Cree booth 2321.

About Cree

Cree is a market-leading innovator of semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications, lighting-class LEDs and LED lighting solutions.

Cree's product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, electronic signs and signals, power supplies and solar inverters.

For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including the risk that actual savings and orders may vary from expectations; the risk that we may be unable to manufacture these new products with sufficiently low cost to offer them at competitive prices or with acceptable margins; the risk we may encounter delays or other difficulties in ramping up production of our new products; customer acceptance of our new products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree's products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 24, 2012, and subsequent filings.